Château d'Annecy: Overall view, Tour de la Reine to the left

The castle was built between the 12th and 16th centuries. It served as the residence of the Counts of Geneva and the Dukes of Genevois-Nemours. Several times the victim of fires, the castle was abandoned in the 17th century and later repaired to serve as a barracks until 1947. The town of Annecy acquired the castle in 1953, restored it with the help of National Monuments Historique (French Ministry of Cultures) and installed a museum there. The Tour de la Reine (Queen’s Tower) is the oldest part of the castle, dating from the 12th century. Its walls are over 4 m (13 ft) thick.